Mürren

Mürren

Growing up in Hawaii, I never knew what the term Winter Wonderland meant. All I knew was that it was probably cold and a happy time. Today, we wanted to get to the Schilthorn, but to get there we would have to go through a few cities ~ Mürren.

Getting to Mürren is no easy feat. This village is 5,374 feet above sea level. There are no roads to get there. You must take a cable car which holds about 100 people to Grütschalp. I'm not sure if this is a village or just a stop. Immediately you get off the cable car and onto a tiny train which holds about 100 people. The train ride was spectacular to say the least. There was a flurry of snow coming down and the trees and ground were covered in snow. The kids excitement was at a 10. On a side note you could also get to Mürren via Stechelberg by cable car. I digress. The kids couldn't contain themselves. They ran off the train and into the snow.

The thought process was to get to the cable that would take us to the Schilthorn. But we didn't really know where it was. I thought I saw it while we were walking, but we were so preoccupied with the snow. There was heavy flurries at this time. We saw a cable car station, so I asked the guy about Piz Gloria, the top of the Schilthorn. He said it was closed today. I was a little bummed, but knew that even though it was open, there would be no view.

Plan B was to go sledding. We found a sporting goods store which rented sleds for 7 CHF each. That was a deal. I wanted to rent the double sled, but they said since it was our first time, the single sleds are for beginners. For 28 CHF, we tried the hill in back of the sporting goods store.

Sledding is hard to control. You have to use your feet to break and turn direction. If you are on a steep grade, it can get dangerous which we would later find out. Michelle wanted to take the cable car to a more challenging sledding route. Since we had the Swiss Travel Pass, it was 1/2 off our tickets up to the next area. At the time we didn't know what the area was called, but we would see a big sign that said Allmendhubel. We would also find out this is where the Bobrun starts. If you look up popular sled rides in Switzerland, the Bobrun comes up in the searches. The Bob run is about a 2 mile sled ride that takes you back down to Mürren. Everything was going find, it is an easy run. We took some epic pictures of the snow. Michelle saw another route near the Bobrun and wanted to try that out. Something told me not to do it. I was first and went down this steep grade. I was heading towards a wooden fence and feared for my life. I stuck my hands out to brace myself and my thumb smacked right into the fence. I heard my thumb crack. It was sore, but only a sprain because I could still move my thumb. I immediately went up the hill to warn the rest of the family. Jared and Malia were coming down together but they were able to slow down. Michelle was going at a fast speed and I could see the fear in her face as she past us and smack into the wooden fence. She rolled down the hill and lay motionless. I though she was dead. As I ran down the hill about 15 feet from the route, she said that she can't move her leg. She was in excruciating pain. A couple offered help. After about 5 minutes, Michelle said she could feel her right leg but could not move it side to side. I helped her up the hill and the couple helped her get back onto the trail. I asked her if we should call for help. She said she will try walk down. It was about 1.8 km back to Mürren. Jared started having a panic attack fearing he would be stuck on the mountain. I yelled and told them to focus on getting back to the village. Due to the cold, it probably prevented circulation and pain shooting to Michelle's leg. The mood soured as we walked back to the train station. The kids were over it. Just then the snow stopped and it started to clear up. The Swiss Alps were clear and we admired the beauty it offered.

Darkness came as we caught the train back to Latuerbrunnen, Interlaken, and to Zurich. The 3 hours back was stressful as Michelle could barely walk. She said her leg wasn't stable and that it could buckle at any time. That night Michelle was in constant pain. Jared said he doesn't like the snow. Malia was having a down day. It is these moments when you learn the struggle of a bad day. We stuck together, barely. That is what makes families strong. I hope.